Coggeshall Farm

Found this tranquil scene late afternoon earlier in the week. The light on the land across the pond attracted me first, then the Bay beyond. I kept the foreground very abstract, going over what I felt to be "too careful" brushstrokes with the palette knife in order to make it less fussy. I reminded myself that showing each blade of grass is not what I'm most interested in. Leave it to those who do it so well, better than I ever could!

It was just so hot we decided to stay at Colt State Park and continue to paint. I turned to face away from the water and saw the light from the setting sun in between the trees. This painting came together so much faster than the first one. Maybe I was able to synthesize the information more effectively after a few hours of looking had already passed.

Twisted Trees

These trees are so fascinating, twisted by wind and wave along the shore at Colt State Park in Bristol, Rhode Island. Only a few minutes from home, the park was a respite earlier this week as the temperatures climbed to the 90's.

Beehive Revisited

I've been thinking alot about why I wasn't happy with my last post of the darling Beehive Cafe in Bristol. It's because the painting is too sweet, too typical. There, I've said it. What drew me to the scene in the first place was the space around the lone customer on the upper deck, under the orange windsail. So I got out my paints today and believe I was able to capture that original feeling, as I painted, not in Bristol at the scene, but on my deck in Portsmouth, with warm breezes blowing, and the Sakonnet shimmering a rich blue under a late afternoon September sky.

Beehive Cafe

Painted this with my plein air group last week. Something about it isn't sitting quite right with me, but I can't put my finger on it. A sweet man in the house next to where we had set up came out with Sprite for us! One of the super hot mornings we had.How thoughtful!

At The Dock

A very foggy morning teaches the sublime qualities of grey! When the sun came through, I had to work at NOT upping the color ante too much. Happy enough with the results done with our Bristol painting group with Kathy Weber.

On Hope

A beautiful morning in Bristol. Made a sketch first, which I seldom do but need to get in the habit of. If nothing else, it will help my compositions. Which will be huge!I like how this turned out.

Hope and Bradford

Let me list the challenges I had with this painting: Pick a complicated scene, shops in a building on a hill with a vast foreground in dappled shade. This painting had me to my knees in the humbling kind of way I don't really feel good about.Well, not happy or confident anyway. Will attempt it again on another sunny morning, and just zero in on what drew me to the scene in the first place, the sun on the side of the building, the doorway with its flag. Another beautiful Bristol scene, home of the first 4th of July parade! Great feedback from Kathy Weber as usual.

Hope and Constitution

Our group met this morning under grey skies along Hope Street in Bristol. The pink of Dawn's top, the umbrella in the garden, and the pink of the bushes all caught my attention, brightening the scene.

Hope and Church

Painted this morning with our plein air group from the Portsmouth Arts Guild with Kathy Weber in downtown Bristol. What a wonderful instructor with a keen eye! It was only sunny for moments-tried to capture that fleeting light.